Vitality England Hockey National League East Conference

Saturday 6th November 2021
Ipswich v Bromley & Beckenham
Tuddenham Rd
Result: Won 3-2 (S Sexto, L Wheelhouse, H Dring-Richardson)

Winning is becoming a habit as Ipswich earn points for a third weekend on the bounce, taking them up to 7th place in the Vitality East Conference. The second win in two weekends saw the team beat Bromley & Beckenham 3-2 at Tuddenham Road.

With everything clicking into place over the past few weeks, Ipswich were full of confidence as they entered the fixture, with forwards Lizzy Wheelhouse, Grace Nichols and Eloise Ward piling on the pressure from the off.

It was very much against the run of play when Ipswich made a mistake giving away a PC which saw the ball deflect into the goal off an Ipswich foot to give the visitors an early lead. Despite this, the team pushed on and with a number of circle entries, it was just the Brom & Beck keeper keeping them in the lead following shots from Hollie Dring-Richardson, Nichols and Wheelhouse.

The half time break allowed coach Laurence Mead to reiterate the aims which meant the team began to link together with the midfield of Lucy Dunnett, Emma Rix, Liv Buchanan and Sophie Sexton threading balls through to the forwards.

It was Sexton who brought Ipswich back with a neat PC beating the stranded Brom & Beck keeper to make the score 1-1 following an excellent piece of play by Kate Wingar and Dring-Richardson. High on the back of the goal, Ipswich switched off briefly and allowed a crash ball to beat the defence, leaving a 1 on 1 with Ipswich keeper Ali Barham beaten, handing the visitors the lead again.

But the team did not give up and pushed hard to regain control of the match. Soon after, Kate Wingar and Eloise Ward worked together on the left with Ward crossing the ball from the left handside, allowing a diving Wheelhouse to slot the ball into the goal.

The final five minutes were not without their drama but it was Ipswich who kept on top of the visitors with a shot from Ward rebounding to Dring-Richardson who placed the ball into the goal to take the lead for the first time. Brom & Beck were not finished and piled the pressure on the Ipswich defence of Emma Williamson, Molly Marshall and Ellie Scott, with GK Barham forced into a last minute save to maintain the win.

It was testament to Ipswich that four players were awarded joint player of the match in Emma Williamson, Ellie Scott, Hollie Dring-Richardson and Lizzy Wheelhouse. The squad are excited to take this momentum into another home game at Tuddenham Road when they take on Horsham at 12pm next Saturday.

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